The Tissue Engineering Resource Center (TERC) continues to be grounded in strong foundational work on advanced biomaterials and bioreactor systems, while Technology &Research Development Projects (T&RD) have evolved along with the significant scientific and technological progress made by the Center and its many collaborators and associates.At its inception, the Center focus of the TERC research was on functional tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, through the integration of the key elements - cells, scaffolds and bioreactos, via a systems approach. In 2008, the Center was renewed for an additional five years of funding support With that renewal, the Center continue to build upon its core research to renew and refine the biomaterials, bioreactors and imaging tools while expanding its research portfolio to include more complex tissues, and more sophisticated data acquisition and control strategies. Great strides have been made toward this goal during the past eight years. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicie continue to rely on advances at the fundamental level, while supporting clinical and industrial effrts with significant impact on human health. As we look to the next five years, TERC is uniquely positined to help advance the field precisely because it maintains a core research program in the fundamental of tissue engineering (stem cell biology, tissue biomechanics, bioreactor design, biomaterials development, integration with imaging), while pushing the field forward with preclinical studies, translation activities, development of platform technologies, and disease modeling. Our research ha spawned collaborative projects, service projects, and many other opportunities that feed into our fundamental research. As we continue to develop more complex and customized biomaterial and bioreactor systems, we initiate collaborations in new tissue types and disease states. The lessons learned are expected to further strengthen the foundational research with new demands on our systems. This research feedback loop has resulted in significant advances and new directions for th Center while maintaining solid foundational work

Public Health Relevance

Tissue Engineering continues to represent a significant potential for biomedical advances. The TERC continues to support the Tissue Engineering Field in the goal of developing functional tissue grafts to improve the clinical outcomes for tissu grafting, disease modeling, and a better fundamental understanding of the engineering of biological systems.